IP lawyer predicts demise of Pirate Bay

Ruling in Stockholm could still set a precedent in UK law

While a number of the initial charges filed against The Pirate Bay have been dropped already, legal experts are still predicting the potential demise of one of the leading torrent-tracking websites.

The initial charges against The Pirate Bay for contributory copyright infringement under Swedish law have now been dropped, but the 'making the content available' charges still remain.

"If the only charge is 'assisting making available copyrighted content', it will be more difficult to prove than contributory infringement, which appeared to be the main original charge," notes Struan Robertson, Legal Director at Pinsent Masons LLP and a specialist in IP infringement and copyright law.

The challenge now for the prosecution "will be in convincing a court that Pirate Bay, as an intermediary rather than a host, is itself making the content available."

Ruling could set precedent

"We also have a provision in UK legislation that bans knowingly 'making available' copyrighted content 'by electronic transmission', but it has never been tested in court against a service like Pirate Bay's," adds Robertson. "So the ruling in Stockholm could be influential for any similar cases that go to trial in the UK."

"What we may find is that the Stockholm court simply concludes that the Pirate Bay looks illegal and sounds illegal – and therefore takes a more liberal interpretation of the law in order to establish that an offence has been committed."

The IP lawyer also notes that: "Had the evidence been in place to support the original charge, I'd have expected the prosecution to succeed in showing contributory infringement. It's the same argument that defeated Grokster, the P2P service, in the US Supreme Court in 2005."